Digital video capabilities can be incorporated into a wide range of devices, including digital televisions, digital direct broadcast systems, wireless communication devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, desktop computers, digital music and video players, handheld gaming devices, video game consoles, digital cameras, digital recording devices, cellular or satellite radio telephones, and the like. Digital video devices can provide significant improvements over conventional analog video systems in processing and transmitting video sequences with increased bandwidth efficiency.
Different video encoding standards have been established for encoding digital video sequences. The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), for example, has developed a number of standards including MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Other examples include the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-T H.263 standard, and the ITU-T H.264 standard and its counterpart, ISO/IEC MPEG-4, Part 10, i.e., Advanced Video Coding (AVC). These video encoding standards support improved transmission efficiency of video sequences by encoding data in a compressed manner. Application of video encoding standards to 3D video is desirable to support 3D viewing by users via a wired or wireless network with a finite bandwidth.
Video content may be recorded in a conventional, two-dimensional (2D) format or in three-dimensional (3D) format. 3D video content can be obtained and presented in different ways. As an example, 3D video content may be obtained by a stereoscopic dual camera and presented by left eye and right eye components. Alternatively, a conventional single camera may be used in conjunction with a depth camera to obtain both a cyclopean view and depth data. As another alternative, a single camera may be used to produce a cyclopean view that is processed to produce both a cyclopean view and depth data. Different 3D video sources may require different types of video output devices, such as a conventional 2D display, a stereoscopic display aided by special glasses, or an autostereoscopic display.